Food for Thought:

I had a busy week socially with 4 evening events, beginning last Saturday night- jamming until the wee hours with friends (held my first banjo!), Air Supply 40th anniversary outdoor concert , karaoke night at the local tavern, and an amazing live show with Delta Rae- whew! Looking forward to a much tamer recovery week ahead. We went to eat some diner food late night after the show Thursday (at the same place I was at recently where someone gave us free Air Supply tickets!! Your House) and I got a smorgasbord of food (necessary to counterbalance some beverages consumed)- something I have now done twice in span of one month, but it's been many years before that! I miss late night diners from my days up north in NY- they are the best.

I had: 1 small box of honey nut cheerios with a splash of milk, grits, bacon, a cheese omelette, and some decaf coffee. ! Go on girl! I have to admit it was very fun evening all around, it was awesome to just let go and chow down, and slow down that alcohol metabolism. And to eat exactly what I wanted- that elusive desire to be "normal" here and there.

I have not been able to tolerate eggs for a while now, maybe a year and a half or more. It has been really hard because it was one of my main staples to eat, I did eggs with everything- quiche, banana pancake (1 egg, 1 banana), omelettes, scrambled, eggs over hard, eggs on pizza, pasta, etc. etc. They have however still been fine cooked/baked in things, even up to 4 eggs.

So, winding down from this big week today, a glorious Saturday to myself, I am here to report that I did great with the food late Thursday night, including the omelette! I am so, cautiously, excited!!! And obviously the eggs were not organic, free range blah blah

I just made some migas for brunch today and am trying them again. I'm wondering about food combinations, and if because I ate them with everything else I ate if that made a difference. It's also curious because I had alcohol that night, and that usually cruises right through me! So I was even more incredulous that I felt well yesterday. This stuff is always really complex to tease out. What is helping with this shift? Finding a great daily fiber solution, which I finally have and I could sing from the rooftops about (hurray for psyllium and acacia)?

I've also been a bit obsessed with organic blue corn chips lately and have eaten them daily... need to wind down on this trend a smidge but they are so easy and delicious. This post has some great insights about the benefits of blue corn and how to incorporate it into the diet.

Well shit (yep literally) - as I finish this post, the bathroom calls. Seems this egg attempt has failed today. I will keep the faith, given that I was OK with diner eggs the other night, and try again sometime soon. The other food that I have had trouble with in recent years is spinach- I've added that back in cautiously and have been doing OK with it so far...

Check out this research on probiotics helping to improve behavioral symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases- some excerpts:

"Probiotics are essential in improving digestion and immune function. They are fundamental in supporting proper microbial balance and optimizing gut health. Previous research has demonstrated that probiotics can have beneficial effects on mood and cognition. I recently shared a human study four months ago, published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity, where researchers found that multispecies probiotics had a positive effect on mood after four weeks of supplementation. There is definitely a gut-brain relationship between nutrition and the gut microbiome and their support of brain health and function. The gut and brain communicate through the nervous system, immune system, and hormones, while the microbiome can also release neurotransmitters."

"According to a new study just published last week in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers demonstrated that probiotics may improve the behavioral symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases by altering the communication between the immune system and the brain."I've taken a variety of high quality probiotics for years, and am currently taking Dr. Ohhira's Propolis Plus, which is terrific for travel as a shelf stable capsule, and also Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Complete Powder when I'm home, which is refrigerated. I recommend them both highly- I cannot go a day without my probiotics!

Heading out the door with my bag of drinks at the ready, and laughing at myself... this is my collection for the day, mostly for the morning... green (or black) tea, Medibulk fiber for my gut, Ultima Replenisher electrolytes for my head, and a smoothie. Yes, I go to the bathroom a lot, but I could not live without these!

Update: Thorne Research changed their formula for Medibulk because they were having trouble sourcing a clean psyllium, and it just does not work anymore for me! Floundered for a few months trying to figure out a new option, and came up with mixing organic acacia fiber (RenewLife) with psyllium husk powder (I use Yerba Prima)- 1 heaping TBSP acacia to 3 heaping tsps. of psyllium in a blender ball cup (I have like 100 of these ). There is still some controversy on the psyllium because of California Prop. 65, but the worry is so, so small and I was so overjoyed to get back to the psyllium, which is what truly works for me that I am just running with it, Prop. 65 be damned!